I love a good movie about newspapers and journalism, and when that movie is also grounded in an actual investigation, well it just gets that much better. There was a time I imagined that I could be a reporter and perhaps that’s why movies of this nature resonate with me.

Spotlight, which took home Best Picture, and Best Screenplay, is a fascinating and engaging watch that tells a fantastic story, and has a great cast. It works, and it works like gangbusters.

The film follows the investigation conducted by The Boston Globe’s investigative unit known as Spotlight, headed by Walter Robinson (Micheal Keaton), into child abuse allegations against a number of Catholic priests around the city.

Robinson has a number of crack reporters under his charge, Sacha Pfeiffer (Rachel McAdams), Mike Rezendes (Mark Ruffalo) and Matt Carroll (Brian d’Arcy James). They answer to Ben Bradlee Jr. (John Slattery) and the paper’s new editor, Marty Baron (Liev Schreiber).

As the investigation begins, the city itself seems to be against them; no one goes against the Church, and almost in the city is a member. The investigation reveals an almost systemic institution of cycling accused priests around, whether on sick leave or to new parishes. There are lawyers involved making private deals between the church and the accusers, and no one wants to talk.

Spotlight digs deeper into the case, discovering more victims, more abusive priests, and a system in place to keep the priests in play, and to discredit anyone who brings a case against them. The truth, as it begins to spill out, is truly horrifying; it’s grooming and abuse.

This could lead me down the road to climbing on a soapbox about the accusations of grooming that certain parties are making against people while proclaiming their religious beliefs are beyond reproach. But I won’t, that’s all I’ll say.

The story and the cast work incredibly well under McCarthy’s direction, and, like a reporter, works to tell an objective tale, and like Marty says towards the end of the film, there’s plenty of blame to go around.

I love watching Keaton, and the way he moves and delivers his dialogue. There’s a tension to his performance. In fact, I love the performances of every cast member, from Stanley Tucci’s lawyer, Garabedian, Billy Crudup’s Macleish to Jamey Sheridan’s Sullivan.

The film isn’t commenting on faith or even religion, it’s talking about the terrible things that those who have positions of power over those who trust them, are vulnerable, and then abuse that trust, and more. And they are protected by the church instead of seeing justice served.

The story is engaging, crisply told, and its amazing that despite the fact that with all the work the Globe did, these things are still happening, priests are still being protected, and others are smeared in their name.

I don’t think there are enough newspaper movies, but I’ve yet to watch one I don’t like.